Aus vs Ind- 2nd ODI Review: Kohli classic and calm finishing steers India level

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A vintage run chase by the Men In Blue ensured that the series stayed alive. Virat Kohli stepped up with his 39th ODI century to eclipse Shaun Marsh’s knock for the Aussies.

Image Courtesy: The Indian Express

Heading into Adelaide striving for survival, Team India managed to attain the goal by the finest of margins. Opting to bat first after winning the toss yet again, skipper Aaron Finch’s trouble with the bat persisted after new ball expert Bhuvneshwar Kumar got one over the opener for the second time in this series.

Despite a sluggish start, Shaun Marsh turned up with a masterclass at the Adelaide. With wickets falling at the other end, Marsh finally found a partner in Glenn Maxwell whose death over antics powered the Aussies to 298-9.

India’s Bumrah-less bowling attack suffered again as they toiled in the sun. Debutant Mohammad Siraj had a maiden outing to forget much like his T20 debut. The ever dependent Kuldeep Yadav too endured a rare failure at the expense of the Australian batsmen.

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan gave the Indian team a brisk start. After the dismissal of the left-hander, Indian skipper Virat Kohli took command. India’s No.4 conundrum took a turn for the worst after Ambati Rayudu endured yet another failure Down Under.

After Kohli’s dismissal, the reigns were taken over by MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, whose intelligent running and timely shots kept India well and alive in the series.

MS Dhoni managed to turn the clock back with his six off Jason Behrendorff after already having steered India to a chase at the same ground, 7 years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-kbmFiCMUI

Brief scorecard:

Australia 298-9 (50 overs) (S.Marsh 131, G.Maxwell 48; B.Kumar 4-45)

India 299-4 (49.2 overs) (V.Kohli 104, MS Dhoni 54; G.Maxwell 1-16)

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